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The KLF
| origin = London, England | genre = }} | years_active = | label = | associated_acts = | past_members = * Bill Drummond * Jimmy Cauty }} The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, The JAMs, the Timelords and other names) were a British electronic band started in the late 1980s and early 1990s.IMO Records. "The KLF Biography", IMO Records' Retrieved on 29 February 2011. Beginning in 1987, Bill Drummond (alias King Boy D) and Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock) released hip hop-inspired and sample-heavy records as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, and on one occasion (the British number one hit single "Doctorin' the Tardis") as the Timelords. The KLF released a series of international hits on their own KLF Communications record label and became the biggest-selling singles act in the world for 1991.Bush, J., KLF biography, ''Allmusic (class=artist|id=p4694/biography|pure_url=yes}} link) The duo also published a book, The Manual (How to Have a Number One the Easy Way), and worked on a road movie called The White Room. From the outset, they adopted the philosophy espoused by esoteric novel series The Illuminatus! Trilogy, making anarchic situationist manifestations, including the defacement of billboard adverts, the posting of cryptic advertisements in NME magazine and the mainstream press, and unusual performances on Top of the Pops. In collaboration with Extreme Noise Terror at the February 1992 BRIT Awards, they fired machine gun blanks into the audience and dumped a dead sheep at the aftershow party. After this performance the duo departed the music business and, in May 1992, deleted their entire back catalogue. With the KLF's profits, Drummond and Cauty established the K Foundation and sought to subvert the art world, staging an alternative art award for the worst artist of the year and burning one million pounds sterling. The KLF Communications catalogue remains deleted in the UK, but The White Room is still being pressed in the US by Arista. They have released a small number of new tracks since then, as the K Foundation, the One World Orchestra and most recently, in 1997, as 2K. History Bill Drummond was an established figure within the British music industry, having co-founded Zoo Records,Reynolds, Simon, Rip It Up And Start Again: Post-punk 1978–1984, played guitar in the Liverpool band Big in Japan,"Big in Japan – Where are they now?", Q Magazine, January 1992 (link ) and worked as manager of Echo & the Bunnymen and the Teardrop Explodes."Tate tat and arty", New Musical Express, 20 November 1993 (link ) In July 1986 he resigned from his position as an A&R man at record label WEA, citing that he was nearly 33⅓ years old (33⅓ revolutions per minute being the speed at which a vinyl LP revolves), and that it was "time for a revolution in my life. There is a mountain to climb the hard way, and I want to see the world from the top"."Special K", GQ magazine (April 1995), quoting "a ringingly quixotic press release" issued by Drummond in 1986 (link ). He released a solo LP, The Man, judged by reviewers as "tastefully understated,"Robbins, I., "KLF", Trouser Press magazine (link ). Retrieved 20 April 2006. a "touching if idiosyncratic biographical statement"Wilkinson, R., "The Man review", Sounds, 8 November 1986 (link ). encapsulating "his bizarrely sage ruminations",du Noyer, P. (1986), "The Man" review, Q magazine, December (?) 1986 (link ). and "a work of humble genius: the best kind". Artist and musician Jimmy Cauty was the guitarist in the three-piece Brilliant—an act that Drummond had signed to WEA Records and managed.LeRoy, D., Brilliant biography, Allmusic (class=artist|id=p22681|pure_url=yes}} link) Cauty and Drummond shared an interest in the esoteric conspiracy novels The Illuminatus! Trilogy and, in particular, their theme of Discordianism, a form of post-modern anarchism. As an art student in Liverpool, Drummond had been involved with the set design for the first stage production of The Illuminatus! Trilogy, a 12-hour performance which opened in Liverpool on 23 November 1976.The production was staged by Ken Campbell's "Science Fiction Theatre of Liverpool". Ian Broudie recalled meeting Drummond during the period of time that the play was staged, in a January 1997 interview with Mixmag ( ). Drummond mentioned Campbell and the play in an interview by Ben Watkins, published by The Wire magazine in March 1997 ( ). Campbell spoke about his production in an interview given to James Nye, first published in Gneurosis 1991, available at Frogweb: Ken Campbell . Retrieved 2 March 2006.Logan, B., "Arts: Gastromancy and other animals: Ken Campbell has a new show at the National Theatre—but he'd rather tell Brian Logan about dogs that talk and sucking spirits up your bottom", The Guardian (Manchester), 29 August 2000, "Guardian Features Pages" section, p14. Re-reading Illuminatus! in late 1986, and influenced by hip-hop, Drummond felt inspired to react against what he perceived to be the stagnant soundscape of popular music. Recalling that moment in a later radio interview, Drummond said that the plan came to him in an instant: he would form a hip-hop band with former colleague Jimmy Cauty, and they would be called the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu. . Transcript taken from the KLF FAQ. }} The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu Early in 1987, Drummond and Cauty's collaborations began. They assumed alter egos – King Boy D and Rockman Rock respectively – and adopted the name the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu (the JAMs), after the fictional conspiratorial group "The Justified Ancients of Mummu" from The Illuminatus! Trilogy. The JAMs' primary instrument was the digital sampler with which they would plagiarise the history of popular music, cutting chunks from existing works and pasting them into new contexts, underpinned by rudimentary beatbox rhythms and overlaid with Drummond's raps, of social commentary, esoteric metaphors and mockery. The JAMs' debut studio single "All You Need Is Love" dealt with the media coverage given to AIDS, sampling heavily from the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love" and Samantha Fox's "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)". Although it was declined by distributors fearful of prosecution, and threatened with lawsuits, copies of the one-sided white label 12" were sent to the music press; it received positive reviews and was made "single of the week" in Sounds."All You Need Is Love" review, Sounds, 14 March 1987. A later piece in the same magazine called the JAMs "the hottest, most exhilarating band this year .... It's hard to understand what it feels like to come across something you believe to be totally new; I have never been so wholeheartedly convinced that a band are so good and exciting.""The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu", Sounds, 16 May 1987. The JAMs re-edited and re-released "All You Need Is Love" in May 1987, removing or doctoring the most antagonistic samples; lyrics from the song appeared as promotional graffiti, defacing selected billboards. The re-release rewarded the JAMs with praise (including NME´s "single of the week")Kelly, D., "All You Need Is Love" review, New Musical Express, 23 May 1987. and the funds necessary to record their debut album. The album, 1987 (What the Fuck Is Going On?), was released in June 1987. Included was a song called "The Queen and I", which sampled the ABBA single "Dancing Queen"."The KLF Biography", KLF BIOG 012, KLF Communications, December 1990(link ) After a legal showdown with ABBADidcock, Barry, "Bitter Swede symphony", Sunday Herald (Glasgow), 21 October 2001, p4. and the Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society,News item, Sounds, 12 September 1987 the 1987 album was forcibly withdrawn from sale. Drummond and Cauty travelled to Sweden in hope of meeting ABBA and coming to some agreement, taking an NME journalist and photographer with them, along with most of the remaining copies of the LP.Brown, J., "Thank You For The Music", New Musical Express, 17 October 1987. They failed to meet ABBA, so disposed of the copies by burning most of them in a field and throwing the rest overboard on the North Sea ferry trip home. In a December 1987 interview, Cauty maintained that they "felt that what they'd done was artistically justified." Two new singles followed on The JAMs' "KLF Communications" independent record label. Both reflected a shift towards house rhythms. According to NME, The JAMs' choice of samples for the first of these, "Whitney Joins The JAMs" saw them leaving behind their strategy of "collision course" to "move straight onto the art of super selective theft"."Whitney Joins The JAMs" review, New Musical Express, August 1987. The song uses samples of the Mission: Impossible and Shaft themes alongside Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody". Drummond has claimed that the KLF were later offered the job of producing or remixing a new Whitney Houston album as an inducement from her record label boss (Clive Davis of Arista Records) to sign with them.Interview with Bill Drummond by Ernie Longmire, "KLF Is Going to Rock You" X Magazine, July 1991 (link)Transcript of a Bill Drummond interview on "Bomlagadafshipoing" (Norwegian national radio house-music show), September 1991 (link )."JAMs turn down Whitney", New Musical Express, 16 November 1991 (link ) The second single in this sequence – Drummond and Cauty's third and final single of 1987 – was "Down Town", a dance record built around a gospel choir and "Downtown" by 1960s star Petula Clark.Reviewed by NME writer James Brown in the 28 November 1987 edition. These early works were later collected on the compilation album Shag Times. A second album, Who Killed The JAMs?, was released in early 1988. Who Killed The JAMs? earned the duo a five-star review from Sounds Magazine, who called it "a masterpiece of pathos"."Who Killed The JAMs?" review, Sounds, February 1988. The Timelords In 1988, Drummond and Cauty became "Time Boy" and "Lord Rock", and released a 'novelty' pop single, "Doctorin' the Tardis" as The Timelords. The song is predominantly a mash-up of the ''Doctor Who'' theme music, "Block Buster!" by Sweet and Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll (Part Two)". Also credited on the record was "Ford Timelord", Cauty's 1968 Ford Galaxie American police car (claimed to have been used in the film Superman IV filmed in the UK). Drummond and Cauty declared that the car had spoken to them, giving its name as Ford Timelord, and advising the duo to become "The Timelords". Drummond and Cauty later portrayed the song as the result of a deliberate effort to write a number one hit single. In interviews with Snub TV and BBC Radio 1,Bill Drummond interviewed by Richard Skinner on Saturday Sequence, BBC Radio 1, December 1990 (MP3) Drummond said that they had intended to make a house record using the Doctor Who theme. After Cauty had laid down a basic track, Drummond observed that their house idea wasn't working and what they actually had was a Glitter beat. Sensing the opportunity to make a commercial pop record they went instead for the lowest common denominator. According to the British music press, the result was "rancid",Wilkinson, R., "...Ford Every Scheme", Sounds, 28 May 1988 (link ). "pure, unadulterated agony" and "excruciating","Doctorin' the Tardis" review, Melody Maker, 28 May 1988 (link ). and from Sounds "a record so noxious that a top ten place can be its only destiny". The record sold over one million copies."Who Killed The KLF?", Select, July 1992 (link ). A single of The Timelords' remixes of the song was released: "Gary Joins The JAMs" featured original vocal contributions from Glitter, who also appeared on Top of the Pops to promote the song with The Timelords. The Timelords released one other product, a 1989 book called The Manual (How to Have a Number One the Easy Way), a step-by-step guide to achieving a number one hit single with little money or talent. The KLF By the time the JAMs' single "Whitney Joins The JAMs" was released in September 1987, their record label had been renamed "KLF Communications" (from the earlier "The Sound of Mu(sic)"). The duo's first release as the KLF was in March 1988, with the single "Burn the Bastards"/"Burn the Beat" (KLF 002). Although the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu name was not yet retired, most future Drummond and Cauty releases went under the name "The KLF". The name change accompanied a change in Drummond and Cauty's musical direction. As 'King Boy D', Drummond said in January 1988, "We might put out a couple of 12" records under the name The K.L.F., these will be rap free just pure dance music, so don't expect to see them reviewed in the music papers". King Boy D also said that he and Rockman Rock were "pissed off at themselves" for letting "people expect us to lead some sort of crusade for sampling".Drummond, B., KLF Communications Info Sheet, 22 January 1988 (link ). In 1990 he recalled that "We wanted to make the KLF something that was ... pure dance music, without any reference points, without any nod to the history of rock and roll. It was the type of music that by early '87 was really exciting me ... although we weren't able to get our first KLF records out until late '88". The 12" records subsequently released in 1988 and 1989 by the KLF were indeed rap free and house-oriented; remixes of some of the JAMs tracks, and new singles, the largely instrumental acid house anthems "What Time Is Love?" and "3 a.m. Eternal", the first incarnations of later international chart successes. The KLF described these new tracks as "Pure Trance". In 1989, the KLF appeared at the Helter Skelter rave in Oxfordshire. "They wooed the crowd", wrote Scotland on Sunday some years later, "by pelting them with ... £1,000 worth of Scottish pound notes, each of which bore the message 'Children we love you .Rimmer, L., "T in the Park: Greatest festival stories ever...", Scotland on Sunday (Edinburgh) , EG MAGAZINE Edition, 8 July 2001, p7. Video Also in 1989, the KLF embarked upon the creation of a road movie and soundtrack album, both titled The White Room, funded by the profits of "Doctorin' The Tardis".Mellor, C. "Beam Me Up, Scotty – How to have a number one (The JAMs way)", Offbeat Magazine, February 1989 (link ) Neither the film nor its soundtrack were formally released, although bootleg copies exist. The soundtrack album contained pop-house versions of some of the "pure trance" singles, as well as new songs, most of which would appear (in radically reworked form) on the version of the album which was eventually released to mainstream success. A single from the original album was released: "Kylie Said to Jason", an electropop record featuring references to Todd Terry, Rolf Harris, Skippy the Bush Kangaroo and BBC comedy programme The Good Life. In reference to that song, Drummond and Cauty noted that they had worn "Pet Shop Boys infatuations brazenly on their sleeves".Sleevenotes, Indie Top 20 Volume 8, published by Beechwood Music, catalogue number TT08, 1990. The film project was fraught with difficulties and setbacks, including dwindling funds. "Kylie Said to Jason", which Drummond and Cauty were hoping could "rescue them from the jaws of bankruptcy", flopped commercially, failing even to make the UK top 100. In consequence, The White Room film project was put on hold, and the KLF abandoned the musical direction of the soundtrack and single.KLF Communications, "Information Sheet Eight", August 1990 (link ) Meanwhile, "What Time Is Love?" was generating acclaim within the underground clubs of continental Europe; according to KLF Communications, "The KLF were being feted by all the 'right' DJs". This prompted Drummond and Cauty to pursue the acid house tone of their Pure Trance series. A further Pure Trance release, "Last Train to Trancentral", followed. At this time, Cauty had co-founded the Orb as an ambient side-project with Alex Paterson. The ambient album Space and the KLF's ambient video Waiting were also released in 1990, as was a dance track, "It's Grim Up North", under The JAMs' moniker. The single, "What Time Is Love?", was released in August 1990. The follow-up, "3 a.m. Eternal", was released in January 1991. The album The White Room followed in March 1991. The KLF's chart success continued with the single "Last Train to Trancentral" hitting number two in the UK, and number three in the Eurochart Hot 100."History Rewritten: The KLF biography", sleevenotes, Mu, EMI Japan TOCP-6916, October 1991 (link ). In December 1991, a re-working of a song from 1987, "Justified & Ancient" was released, featuring Tammy Wynette. It was another international hit—peaking at number two in the UK, and number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100—as was "America: What Time Is Love?". In 1990 and 1991, the KLF also remixed tracks by Depeche Mode ("Policy of Truth"), the Moody Boys ("What Is Dub?"), and Pet Shop Boys ("So Hard" from the Behaviour album, and "It Must Be Obvious"). Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant described the process: "When they did the remix of 'So Hard', they didn't do a remix at all, they re-wrote the record ... I had to go and sing the vocals again, they did it in a different way. I was impressed that Bill Drummond had written all the chords out and played it on an acoustic guitar, very thorough."Brown, J., "The Pet Shop Boys Versus The World", New Musical Express, 25 25 May 1991. After successive name changes and dance records, Drummond and Cauty ultimately became, as the KLF, the biggest-selling singles act in the world for 1991,"Timelords gentlemen, please!", New Musical Express, 16 May 1992 (link ) still incorporating the work of other artists but in less gratuitous ways and predominantly without legal problems. Retirement On 12 February 1992, the KLF and crust punk group Extreme Noise Terror performed a live version of "3 a.m. Eternal" at the BRIT Awards, the British Phonographic Industry's annual awards show; a "violently antagonistic performance" in front of "a stunned music-business audience".McCormick, N., "The Arts: My name is Bill, and I'm a popaholic", The Daily Telegraph (London), 2 March 2000, p27. Drummond and Cauty had planned to throw buckets of sheep's blood over the audience, but were prevented from doing so due to opposition from BBC lawyers"Brits behaving badly", BBC News Online, 4 March 2000 (link )"Baa-nned!! KLF sheep chopped by BBC", New Musical Express, 22 February 1992 (link ) and Extreme Noise Terror.Kelly, D. "Welcome To The Sheep Seats", New Musical Express, 29 February 1992 (link ) The performance was instead ended by a limping, kilted, cigar-chomping Drummond firing blanks from an automatic weapon over the heads of the crowd. As the band left the stage, the KLF's promoter and narrator Scott Piering proclaimed over the PA system that "The KLF have now left the music business". Later in the evening the band dumped a dead sheep with the message "I died for you – bon appetit" tied around its waist at the entrance to one of the post-ceremony parties. Producer Trevor Horn is reported to have called their antics "disgusting". NME, on the other hand, said that the KLF "stormed" the show and that after their performance the BRITs show went "downhill all the way". Scott Piering's announcement was largely ignored at the time. NME, for example, assured their readers that the tensions and contradictions would continue to "push and spark" the KLF and that more "musical treasure" would be the result. In the weeks following the BRITs performance, the KLF continued working with Extreme Noise Terror on the album The Black Room, but it was never finished. On 14 May 1992, the KLF announced their immediate retirement from the music industry and the deletion of their back catalogue: In a comprehensive examination of the KLF's announcement and its context, Select called it "the last grand gesture, the most heroic act of public self destruction in the history of pop. And it's also Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty's final extravagant howl of self disgust, defiance and contempt for a music world gone foul and corrupt." Many of the KLF's friends and collaborators gave their reactions in the magazine. Movie director Bill Butt said that "Like everything, they're dealing with it in a very realistic way, a fresh, unbitter way, which is very often not the case. A lot of bands disappear with such a terrible loss of dignity". Scott Piering said that "They've got a huge buzz off this, that's for sure, because it's something that's finally thrilling. It's scary to have thrown away a fortune which I know they have. Just the idea of starting over is exciting. Starting over on what? Well, they have such great ideas, like buying submarines". Even Kenny Gates, who as a director of the KLF's distributors APT stood to lose financially from the move, called it "Conceptually and philosophically ... absolutely brilliant". Mark Stent reported the doubts of many when he said that "I have had so many people who I know, heads of record companies, A&R men saying, 'Come on, It's a big scam.' But I firmly believe it's over". "For the very last spectacularly insane time", the magazine concluded, "The KLF have done what was least expected of them". There have been numerous suggestions that in 1992 Drummond was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.Shaw, W., "Special K", GQ magazine, April 1995 (link )"1992 had been the year of Bill's 'breakdown', when the KLF, perched on the peak of greater-than-ever success, quit the music business, (toy) machine gunned the tuxedo'd twats in the front row of that year's BRIT Awards ceremony and dumped a sheep's carcass on the steps at the after-show party." Martin, G., "The Chronicled Mutineers", Vox, December 1996 (link ) Drummond himself said that he was on the edge of the "abyss".Drummond, Bill and Mark Manning, Bad Wisdom ( ) BRIT Awards organiser Jonathan King had publicly endorsed the KLF's live performance, a response which Scott Piering cited as "the real low point". The KLF's BRITs statuette for "Best British Group" of 1992 was later found buried in a field near Stonehenge."BRITs statuette dug up", Q magazine, Feb 1993 (link ) K Foundation and post-retirement projects The K Foundation was an arts foundation established by Drummond and Cauty in 1993 following their 'retirement' from the music industry. From 1993 to 1995 they engaged in art projects and media campaigns, including the high-profile K Foundation art award (for the "worst artist of the year")."The Best Of Artists, The Worst of Artists", New York Times, 29 November 1993 (link ).Ellison, M. "Terror strikes at the Turner Prize / Art at its very best (or worst)", The Guardian, 24 November 1993 (link ). They burnt what was left of their KLF earnings—a million pounds in cash—and filmed the performance.Reid, J., "Money to burn", The Observer, 25 September 1994. This article is a first-hand account by freelance journalist Jim Reid, the only independent witness to the burning. (link )Butler, B., interview with Jimmy Cauty for The Big Issue Australia, 18 June 2003 (link ). For Cauty's actual words—a breakdown of The KLF's earnings and spending—see K Foundation Burn a Million Quid."Burning Question", The Observer, 13 February 2000 (link ) In 1995, Drummond and Cauty contributed a song to The Help Album as The One World Orchestra ("featuring The Massed Pipes and Drums of the Children's Free Revolutionary Volunteer Guards").Discogs.com entry for "One World Orchestra, The" (discogs.com link ) "The Magnificent" is a drum'n'bass version of the theme tune from The Magnificent Seven, with vocal samples from DJ Fleka of Serbian radio station B92: "Humans against killing... that sounds like a junkie against dope". On 17 September 1997, Drummond and Cauty re-emerged briefly as 2K.Flint, C. "Media Pranksters KLF Re-emerge As 2K", Billboard, 2 September 1997 (link ) 2K made a one-off performance at London's Barbican Arts Centre with Mark Manning, Acid Brass, the Liverpool Dockers and Gimpo;"Justified and (Very) Ancient?", Melody Maker, 20 August 1997 (link ) a performance at which "Two elderly gentlemen, reeking of Dettol, caused havoc in their motorised wheelchairs. These old reprobates, bearing a grandfatherly resemblance to messrs Cauty and Drummond, claimed to have just been asked along."2K press release & biography on the website of their record label, Mute/Blast First (link ) The song performed at the Barbican—"Fuck the Millennium" (a remix of "What Time Is Love?" featuring Acid Brass and incorporating elements of the hymn "Eternal Father, Strong to Save")—was also released as a single. These activities were accompanied by the usual full page press adverts, this time asking readers "***k The Millennium: Yes/No?" with a telephone number provided for voting. At the same time, Drummond and Cauty were also K2 Plant Hire, with plans to build a "People's Pyramid" from used house bricks; this plan never reached fruition."People's Pyramid", Melody Maker, 15 November 1997 (link )"2K: Brickin' it!", New Musical Express, Nov 97 (link ) During the Welcome To The Dark Ages event in August 2017, Cauty and Drummond announced the creation of an undertakers business and new plans for a People’s Pyramid. , Drummond continues to work as a writer and conceptual artist, with occasional appearances on radio and television. Cauty has been involved in several post-KLF projects including the music and conceptual art collective Blacksmoke and, more recently, numerous creative projects with the aquarium and the L-13 Light Industrial Workshop based in Clerkenwell, London. KLF Communications From their very earliest releases as The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu until their retirement in 1992, the music of Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty was independently released in their home country (the UK).KLF Communications profile at Discogs.com (link ) Their debut releases—the single "All You Need Is Love" and the album 1987—were released under the label name "The Sound Of Mu(sic)". By the end of 1987 Drummond and Cauty had renamed their label to "KLF Communications" and, in October 1987, the first of many "information sheets" (self written missives from the KLF to fans and the media) was sent out by the label. KLF Communications releases were distributed by Rough Trade Distribution (a spinoff of Rough Trade Records) in the South East of England, and across the wider UK by the Cartel. As Drummond and Cauty explained, "The Cartel is, as the name implies, a group of independent distributors across the country who work in conjunction with each other providing a solid network of distribution without stepping on each other's toes. We are distributed by the Cartel."Drummond, B. & Cauty, J. (1989) The Manual (How To Have a Number One The Easy Way), KLF Publications (KLF 009B), UK. . (Link to full text) When Rough Trade Distribution collapsed in 1991 it was reported that they owed KLF Communications £500,000."KLF chase money ... and McCulloch", New Musical Express, 29 February 1992 (link ) Plugging (the promotion to TV and radio) was handled by longtime associate Scott Piering. Outside the UK, KLF releases were issued under licence by local labels. In the US, the licensees were Wax Trax (the Chill Out album''Allmusic'' review of Chill Out (class=album|id=r11084|pure_url=yes}} link)), TVT (early releases including The History of The JAMs a.k.a. The TimelordsAllmusic review of The History of The JAMs a.k.a. The Timelords (class=album|id=r27962|pure_url=yes}} link)), and Arista Records (The White Room and singles''Allmusic'' review of The White Room/Justified & Ancient (class=album|id=r183594|pure_url=yes}} link)Bill Drummond explained the licensing situation—and inducements made by Arista—in an interview by Ernie Longmire, X Magazine, July 1991 (link)). The KLF Communications catalogue remains deleted in the United Kingdom. 2017 reunion On 5 January 2017, the Eastfolk Chronicle reported on the reunion of the duo; a poster in Hackney, London that was spotted by the newspaper's editor Cally Callomon, who is also manager for Drummond, with the heading "2017: What the Fuck Is Going On?", announced a return for the duo as The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu on 23 August 2017, and asked those seeking further information to contact K2 Plant Hire Ltd. K2 has been registered in Drummond and Cauty's names at Companies House. At 23 seconds past midnight on 23 August, the KLF returned in an ice-cream van to a book signing in Liverpool of their new book 2023: A Trilogy by the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, described as "a multi-layered, self-referential meta tale." Following the book signing, Cauty and Drummond staged three days of events along with 400 volunteers under the banner of "Welcome to the Dark Ages". Themes Several threads and themes unify the many incarnations of Drummond and Cauty's creative partnership. Mostly these are esoteric or opaque in nature, which has led Melody Maker to compare them to The Residents.Stubbs, D. "Pranks for the Memory", Melody Maker, 16 February 1991 (link )In his book 45 (Little & Brown, / Abacus, ), Drummond documented his love of The Residents as a concept (link ). Drummond and Cauty have also been compared to Stewart Home and the Neoists.Extract from a feature on Stewart Home. Cornwell, J. i-D Magazine, Nov 1993 (link ) Home himself said that the duo's work "has much more in common with the Neoist, Plagiarist and Art Strike movements of the nineteen-eighties than with the Situationist avant-garde of the fifties and sixties." Drummond and Cauty "represent a vital and innovative strand within contemporary culture", he added.Home, S., "Doctorin' Our Culture", published on the website of The Stewart Home Society (link ) ''Illuminatus! Drummond and Cauty made heavy references to Discordianism, popularised by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson in the ''Illuminatus! books, written between 1969 and 1971. Throughout the partnership, these tactics were often interpreted by media commentators as "Situationist pranks" or "publicity stunts".Vincentelli, Elisabeth (2004) [https://books.google.com/books?id=yoCV0eaetb0C ABBA gold] According to Drummond, "That's just the way it was interpreted. We've always loathed the word scam. I know no-one's ever going to believe us, but we never felt we went out and did things to get reactions. Everything we've done has just been on a gut level instinct."Morton, R., "One Coronation Under A Groove", New Musical Express, 22 January 1991 (link ). Cauty has expressed similar feelings, saying of the KLF, "I think it worked because we really meant it." The number 23 is a theme of Illuminatus!, where instances of the number are both overtly and surreptitiously placed. * In lyrics to the song "Next" from the album 1987: "23 years is a mighty long time". * They reportedly signed a contract preventing either of them from publicly discussing the burning of a million pounds for a period of 23 years;K Foundation, "Cape Wrath" advertisement, in The Guardian (G2), 8 December 1995(link ). their 1997 return as 2K was "for 23 minutes only".2K press advert (link , overview ) * In numbering schemes: for instance, the debut single "All You Need Is Love" took the catalogue number JAMS 23, while the final KLF Communications Information Sheet was numbered 23; and Cauty's Ford Galaxie police car had on its roof the identification mark 23. * In significant dates during their work: for instance, a rare public appearance by the KLF, at the Liverpool Festival of Comedy, was on 23 June 1991; they announced the winner of the K Foundation award on 23 November 1993;"K-Foundation nailed", New Musical Express, 11 December 1993 (link ) and they burned one million pounds on 23 August 1994. * The 2017 reunion happened at 00:23 on 23 August, 23 years after the KLF ended in 1994, with the release of a book entitled 2023: A Trilogy. The numerals of the date - 23/08/2017 - also sum to 23 (2+3+0+8+2+0+1+7=23). When questioned on the importance that he attaches to this number, Drummond has been evasive, responding enigmatically "I know. But I'm not going to tell, because then other people would have to stop having to wonder and the thing about beauty is for other people to wonder at it. It's not very beautiful once you know.""Freak Show", i-D magazine, December 1994 (link ). The "Pyramid Blaster" is a logo and icon frequently and prominently depicted within the duo's collective work: a pyramid, in front of which is suspended a ghetto blaster displaying the word "Justified". This references the All-Seeing Eye icon, often depicted as an eye within a triangle or pyramid, a significant symbol of Illuminatus! The pyramid was also a theme of the duo's 1997 re-emergence, with the proposed building by K2 Plant Hire of "a massive pyramid containing one brick for every person born in the UK during the 20th century".Fortean Times, referencing The Big Issue, 15 September 1997 and The Guardian, 5 November 1997 (link ). KLF has been variously reported as being an initialism for "Kopyright Liberation Front",Strong, Martin C. (1999) The Great Alternative & Indie Discography, Canongate, , p. 356 and "Kings of the Low Frequencies". Although Drummond accounted for the adoption of the JAMs name in the first KLF Communications Info Sheet,Drummond, B. (1987), KLF Info Sheet Oct 1987 (link ) the reasoning behind Drummond and Cauty's decision to reference the Illuminatus! mythology with such consistent intricacy is unknown. Indeed, it has been suggested by journalist Steven Poole that the public's inability to understand the KLF fully results in all their subsequent activities (as a partnership or otherwise) being absorbed into the KLF's mystique. In a review of Drummond's 1999 book, 45, and an appraisal of the KLF's career, Poole stated that "Drummond and collaborator Jimmy Cauty are the only true conceptual artists of the 1990s. And for all the eldritch beauty of their art, their most successful creation is the myth they have built around themselves."Poole, S., "Hit man, myth maker—''45''", The Observer, 26 February 2000 (link ) He concluded, Trancentral, eternity, sheep Trancentral (a.k.a. the BenioMead, H. (1990), Chill Out review, New Musical Express (link ).) was their studios. Despite the grandiose lyrics of "Last Train to Trancentral", Trancentral was in fact Cauty's residence in Stockwell, South London ( ), "a large and rather grotty squat" according to Melody Maker's David Stubbs: "Jimmy has lived there for 12 years. ('I hate the place. I've no alternative but to live here.') There's little evidence of fame or fortune. The kitchen is heated by means of leaving the three functioning gas rings on at full blast until the fumes make us all feel stoned .... And, pinned just above a working top cluttered with chipped mugs is a letter from a five-year-old fan, featuring a crayon drawing of the band." Following the February 1990 release of Chill Out, sheep had recurring roles in the duo's output until their 1992 retirement. Drummond has claimed that the use of sheep on the Chill Out cover was intended to evoke contemporary rural raves and the cover of the Pink Floyd album Atom Heart Mother. Ceremonies and journeys Drummond and Cauty's work often involved notions of ceremony and journey. Journeys are the subject of the KLF Communications recordings Chill Out, Space, "Last Train to Trancentral", "Justified & Ancient" and "America: What Time Is Love?", as well as the aborted film project The White Room. The Chill Out album depicts a journey across the U.S. Gulf Coast. In his book 45, Drummond expressed his admiration for the work of artist Richard Long, who incorporates physical journeys into his art.Drummond, B., "A Smell Of Money Under Ground", 45, Little & Brown, / Abacus, , 2000. Fire and sacrifice were recurring ceremonial themes: Drummond and Cauty made fires to dispose of their illegal debut album and to sacrifice the KLF's profits; their dead sheep gesture of 1992 carried a sacrificial message. The KLF's short film The Rites of Mu depicts their celebration of the 1991 summer solstice on the Hebridean island of Jura: a tall wicker man was burnt at a ceremony in which journalists were asked to wear yellow and grey robes and join a chant. Promotion Drummond and Cauty were renowned for their distinctive and humorous public appearances (including several on Top of the Pops), at which they were often costumed.Frith, M., "The Return of The KLF", Sky, October 1997 (link ). They granted few interviews, communicating instead via semi-regular newsletters, or cryptically phrased full-page adverts in UK national newspapers and the music press. Such adverts were typically stark, comprising large white lettering on black. From the outset of their collaborations, Drummond and Cauty practised the guerrilla communication tactic that they described as "illegal but effective use of graffiti on billboards and public buildings" in which "the original meaning of the advert would be totally subverted". Much as the JAMs' early recordings carried messages on the back of existing musical works, their promotional graffiti often derived its potency from the context in which it was placed. For instance, The JAMs' "SHAG SHAG SHAG" graffiti, coinciding with their release of "All You Need Is Love", was drawn over the "HALO HALO HALO" slogan of a Today billboard that depicted Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable James Anderton, who had decried homosexuals amidst the UK media's AIDS furore.For a general overview see: "The 1980s AIDS campaign", Panorama Article on the BBC website . Retrieved 26 April 2006. A fuller set of references are available in the article "All You Need Is Love (The JAMs song)" Music press journalists were occasionally invited to witness the defacements. In December 1987, a Melody Maker reporter was in attendance to see Cauty reverse his car Ford Timelord alongside a billboard and stand on its roof to graffiti a Christmas message from the JAMs.Smith, M., "The Great TUNE Robbery", Melody Maker, 12 December 1987 (link ) In February 1991, another Melody Maker journalist watched the KLF deface a billboard advertising The Sunday Times, doctoring the slogan "THE GULF: the coverage, the analysis, the facts" by painting a 'K' over the 'GU'. Drummond and Cauty were, on this occasion, caught at the scene by police and arrested, later to be released without charge. In November 1991, the slogan "It's Grim Up North" appeared as graffiti on the junction of London's M25 orbital motorway with the M1, which runs to Northern England. The graffiti, for which the JAMs denied responsibility, led to a House of Commons motion being timetabled by Member of Parliament Joe Ashton regarding regional imbalance."The JAMs: centre of political interest", New Musical Express, 9 November 1991 (link ). In September 1997, on the day after Drummond and Cauty's brief remergence as 2K, the graffiti "1997: What The Fuck's Going On?" appeared on the outside wall of London's National Theatre, ten years after the slogan "1987: What The Fuck's Going On?" had been similarly placed to mark the release of the JAMs' debut album."Pre-millennium tension hits new high", New Musical Express 27 September 1997 (link ). Legacy ", with a quote from the lyrics: "They travel the world in their ice cream van, they've voyaged to the bottom of time. They've been to the place where the Mu-Mu mate, and the children still cry 'Mine's a 99!'"]] Chill Out is cited as "one of the essential ambient albums".Bush, J., [ Chill Out review], Allmusic. Retrieved 6 April 2006. In 1996, Mixmag named Chill Out the fifth best "dance" album of all time, describing Cauty's DJ sets with the Orb's Alex Paterson as "seminal".Philips, D., "50 Greatest Dance Albums: # 5", Mixmag, March 1996 (link ). The Guardian has credited the KLF with inventing "stadium house"O'Reilly, J. "The horny old devils", The Guardian, 29 August 1997 (link ) and NME named the KLF's stadium house album The White Room the 81st best album of all time.NME TOP 100 ALBUMS OF ALL TIME at NME, via the Wayback Machinenme.com - Top 100 Of All Times at NME, via the Wayback Machine Sound on Sound magazine credited the KLF with "setting the trend for a new approach to mixing". Engineer Mark Stent is quoted as saying: Opinions of contemporaries In 1991, Chris Lowe of the Pet Shop Boys said that he considered the only other worthwhile group in the UK to be the KLF. Neil Tennant added that "They have an incredibly recognisable sound. I liked it when they said EMF nicked the F from KLF.Morton, R. "One Coronation Under A Groove", New Musical Express, 12 January 1991 ( ) They're from a different tradition to us in that they're pranksters and we've never been pranksters." At the time of the KLF's retirement announcement, Drummond's old friend and colleague David Balfe said of Drummond's KLF career that "the path he's trodden is a more artistic one than mine. I know that deep down I like the idea of building up a very successful career, where Bill is more interested in weird stuff .... I think the very avoidance of cliché has become their particular cliché". In March 1994, members of the anarchist band Chumbawamba expressed their respect for the KLF. Vocalist and percussionist Alice Nutter referred to the KLF as "real situationists" categorising them as political musicians alongside the Sex Pistols and Public Enemy. Dunst Bruce lauded the K Foundation, concluding "I think the things the KLF do are fantastic. I'm a vegetarian but I wish they'd sawn an elephant's legs off at the BRIT Awards."Maconie, S., Chumbawamba interview, Select, March 1994 (link ). Direct influence The KLF have been imitated to some degree by German techno band Scooter, being sampled on virtually every album Scooter have released. A group called "1300 Drums featuring the Unjustified Ancients of M.U." released a novelty single to cash-in on the popularity of Manchester United footballer Eric Cantona. 1300 Drums even made a KLF-style Top of the Pops appearance, with the "band" wearing Cantona masks. The authorship of "Ooh Aah" remains unresolved: at least one source maintains that Drummond and Cauty themselves were 1300 Drums.RedMuze biography of the KLF at BBC Online (link ) The Timelords' book, The Manual, was reportedly used by the one-hit-wonders Edelweiss to secure their hit "Bring Me Edelweiss".Longmire, E. "KLF Is Going to Rock You" X Magazine, July 1991 (link)Reighley, K.B. "Hear No Evil", Seattle Weekly, 26 May 1999 (link ) In 2014 Classic Pop magazine featured an article which claimed the KLF were in turn influenced by the Dr Calculus mdma 1986 album Designer Beatnik.Dr Calculus Vs. The KLF, Classic Pop Magazine, Summer 2014 (link) Career retrospectives Drummond and Cauty have appeared frequently in British broadsheets and music papers since the KLF's retirement, most often in connection with the K Foundation and their burning of one million pounds. The NME called them "masters of manipulating media and perceptions of themselves"."Fresh JAMMS? ", New Musical Express, 6 September 2001 In 1992, NME referred to the KLF as "Britain's greatest pop group" and "the two most brilliant minds in pop today", and in 2002 listed the duo in their "Top 50 Icons" at number 48."Top 50 NME Icons", New Musical Express. See also "Roll over, Beatles - Smiths top the pops: Oldies and goldies in hall of fame", The Guardian (Manchester), 17 April 2002, "Guardian Home Pages" section, p6. The British music paper also listed the KLF's 1992 BRIT Awards appearance at number 4 in their "top 100 rock moments of all time"."Top 100 Rock Moments of All Time" , NME.com. Retrieved 3 February 2015. "What's unique about Drummond and Cauty", the paper said in 1993, "is the way that, under all the slogans and the sampling and the smart hits and the dead sheep and the costumes, they appear not only to care, but to have some idea of how to achieve what they want." "their many aliases, it is as the KLF that they will go down in pop history," wrote Alix Sharkey in 1994, "for a variety of reasons, the most important being the resolute purity of their self-abnegation, and their visionary understanding of pop." He added: "By early 1992 the KLF was easily the best-selling, probably the most innovative, and undoubtedly the most exhilarating pop phenomenon in Britain. In five years it had gone from pressing up 500 copies of its debut recording to being one of the world's top singles acts." The same piece also quoted Sheryl Garratt, editor of The Face: ""the music hasn't dated. I still get an adrenaline rush listening to it." Garratt believes their influence on the British house and rap scene cannot be overestimated. "Their attitude was shaped by the rave scene, but they also love pop music. So many people who make pop actually despise it, and it shows.""Sharkey, A., "Trash Art & Kreation", The Guardian Weekend, 21 May 1994 (link ). Trouser Press reviewer Ira Robbins referred to the KLF's body of work as "a series of colorful sonic marketing experiments". The Face called them "the kings of cultural anarchy"."K Foundation: Nailed To The Wall", The Face, January 1994 (link ) In 2003, The Observer named the KLF's departure from the music business (and the BRITs performance in which the newspaper says "their legend was sealed") the fifth greatest "publicity stunt" in the history of popular music (Elvis joining the army being hailed as the greatest).Thompson, B. "The 10 greatest publicity stunts", The Observer, 27 September 2003 (link ) A 2004 listener poll by BBC 6 Music saw the KLF/K Foundation placed second in a list of "rock excesses" (after the Who).Barnes, Anthony, "The Who top rock's hall of shame", The Independent on Sunday (London), 20 June 2004, p5. Instrumentation Early releases by the JAMs, including the album 1987, were performed using an Apple II computer with a Greengate DS3 sampler peripheral card, and a Roland TR-808 drum machine.KLF Communications, sleevenotes, "1987: The JAMs 45 Edits", JAMS 23T, 1987.NME's 28 November 1987 review of The JAMs' single "Down Town" referred to them as "The Kings of The Greengate Sampler". On later releases, the Greengate DS3 and Apple II were replaced with an Akai S900 sampler and Atari ST computers respectively. The house music of Space and the KLF involved much original instrumentation, for which the Oberheim OB-8 analogue synthesiser was prominently used.KLF Communications, sleevenotes, The White Room, JAMS LP6, 1991. The KLF's 1990–1992 singles were mixed by Mark Stent, using a Solid State Logic automated mixing desk, and The White Room LP mixed by J. Gordon-Hastings using an analogue desk. The SSL is referenced in the subtitle of the KLF single "3 a.m. Eternal (Live at the S.S.L.)". The Roland TB-303 bassline and Roland TR-909 drum machine feature on "What Time Is Love (Live at Trancentral)". Several of Drummond and Cauty's compositions feature original instrumentation. Drummond played a Gibson ES-330 semi-acoustic guitar on "America: What Time Is Love?",KLF Communications, sleevenotes, "America: What Time Is Love?", KLF USA4, 1992. and Cauty played electric guitar on "Justified & Ancient (Stand by The JAMs)" and "America: What Time Is Love?". Graham Lee provided prominent pedal steel contributions to the KLF's Chill Out and "Build a Fire". Duy Khiem played clarinet on "3 a.m. Eternal" and "Make It Rain". The KLF track "America No More" features a pipe band. Discography *The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu: 1987 (What the Fuck Is Going On?) (The Sound of Mu(sic), 1987) *The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu: Who Killed The JAMs? (KLF Communications, 1988) *The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu/The KLF/The Timelords: Shag Times (KLF Communications, 1988) *The Justified Ancients of Mu Mu/The KLF/The Timelords: The History of The JAMs a.k.a. The Timelords (TVT Records, 1989) *The KLF/Various Artists: The "What Time Is Love?" Story (KLF Communications, 1989) *The KLF: Chill Out (KLF Communications, 1990) *Space: Space (KLF Communications, 1990) *The KLF: The White Room (KLF Communications, 1991) Bibliography *''The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds'' - (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2013) }} by John Higgs See also *List of ambient music artists *List of The KLF's creative associates *Anti-art *Discordianism References External links * The Library of Mu – archive of press articles * KLF Mailing List * * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060222002713/http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~stuey/klf/23.htm The KLF and Illuminatus!] – including a list of their references to the number 23 * The KLF at Acclaimed Music – artist rank #373 * Category:The KLF Category:KLF Communications artists Category:House musicians Category:Acid house musicians Category:Alternative dance musical groups Category:Brit Award winners Category:British ambient music groups Category:British techno musicians Category:Conceptual artists Category:Electronic music duos Category:British dance music groups Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1992 Category:Musical groups established in 1987 Category:Musical groups from London Category:Musical groups reestablished in 2017 Category:Pranksters Category:Remixers Category:Squatters Category:Wax Trax! Records artists Category:1987 establishments in England